August 23rd

Jesus went where and did what?

             For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,  in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison,  who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.  And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

1 Peter 3:18-22

            As I read this passage, I am struck by how limited my perceptions of God are.  In my mind, people live and they die.  In that life they have a choice to follow Jesus or to reject Him.  Paul says in a different part of scripture that Nature itself testifies to the existence and goodness of God for those who have not heard of Jesus.  He writes that the Holy Spirit whispers to all human hearts about the reality of the Creator.  Everyone is presented with some information and some resource to choose God and then they will be judged based upon what they have done with that information.  Choices were made in life and their repercussions will echo throughout eternity.

            And then Peter, who was taught by Jesus after His resurrection, writes this passage which seems to state that when Jesus was crucified, He descended to Hell and held a revival meeting for the condemned souls in residence.  Did Jesus really give a second chance to the residents of Hell?  Did He lead a jailbreak during Easter weekend?  Was that a one-time event?  Does God give a second chance to choose after death?

            Truthfully, I don’t know.  Read through the passage above, and you can come up with several different interpretations of what Peter is saying.  Peter’s point is not about what Jesus did or did not do for the cursed and imprisoned.  Peter’s point is to live a life that follows Jesus’ example, all the way down to being baptized as a symbol of Christ’s death and resurrection.  Follow Jesus through life and through death and we will find ourselves in His presence at the right hand of God.

            But still…my mind goes back over and over again to Jesus proclaiming the good news to those who were impossible to reach.  And I think of our children…who often feel impossible to reach.  Which of my words or actions or moods or prayers actually sink in to his mind or heart?  For the severely disabled little girl that I knew who could not speak or walk or see or hear…what good would my words do?  What good would proclaiming the gospel do?  What did any of my actions matter for her if God did not heal her first?

            Jesus.  Jesus is always the answer.  Jesus can reach those who are impossible to reach…those who are impossible to get through to…Jesus can penetrate the toughest heart and the dullest senses.  If He can invade Hell to preach freedom to the captives, He can certainly deal with deaf ears or ADD attention spans or rebellious arms and legs.  Jesus can…Jesus already has reached out to your child.  They may not be able to say His name.  They may not be able to quote Bible verses.  They may not be able to journal about prayer times.  But He can come to them and connect with them, heart to heart.  And they can love Him deeply in ways that cannot be spoken.

            Jesus specializes in connecting with those that it is impossible to reach.

A moment to reflect:

Pray for your child today.  Pray that Jesus would connect with their souls in new and powerful and long-lasting ways.  Pray that they will be filled with the Joy of the Lord even if physical healing does not come their way.